• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.99-115
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• 2022

This study examined difficulties middle school students have in learning mathematics and proposed a flipped classroom consisting of Khan Academy activities, small-group problem solving, and mathematical modeling to help improve their learning. A mixed-method approach was used to identify difficulties students have in learning mathematics, explore how the flipped classroom helped them reduce the learning difficulties identified, and examine if there were differences in students' mathematics achievement and their affective characteristics after participating in the flipped classroom. Qualitative analyses showed that students had difficulties in understanding mathematical concepts and finding effective ways to learn as well as negative views towards learning mathematics. This study also found that each activity of the flipped classroom had a different impact on student learning. Before class, the Khan Academy activities were most likely to help students understand mathematical concepts. In class, small-group problem solving activities were most helpful for students who had trouble finding effective learning methods and environments. Mathematical modeling activities were most likely effective in changing students' negative views towards mathematics. A quantitative analysis showed that the flipped classroom not only significantly improved the students' mathematics achievement, but also positively affected their confidence and motivation and how much they valued learning mathematics.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-28
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• 2002

This study explored teachers (n = 219) from northern, central, southern and eastern Taiwan concerning their views about children's learning difficulties, mathematical instruction and school mathematics curricular. Results showed that teachers' mathematics knowledge or their instruction methods had no significant influence on their views of children's learning difficulties. Even though teachers indicated that understanding of abstract mathematical concepts was the most prominent difficulty for children, they tended to employ direct instruction rather than constructive and cooperative problem solving in their teaching. However, teachers' views of children's learning difficulties did influence their instructional practice. Results from in-dept interviews revealed that there were some obstacles that prevented teachers from putting constructiveism perspectives of instruction into teaching practice. Further investigation is needed to develop a better understanding of epistemology and teaming psychology as well as to help teachers create constructive learning situations.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.75-85
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• 2007

This paper analyzes the difficulties with the learning of sequence and series of the second-year students who participated in a year long whole class at the university level. The research was carried out at the end of students' third semester. These students were randomly selected. They were applied to one paper and pencil test containing eight task items on sequence and series. In this study, qualitative method (case study design) was used to explore students' difficulties and misunderstandings in learning sequence and series. Students' responses to the questions were divided into three categories: These were "correct", "partial correct" and "false or no responses". Students' responses to the paper and pencil test were evaluated. The results show that students had difficulties and misunderstandings in series and sequence.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.187-206
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to know what is the difficulties that mathematics underachievers are suffering from the area of mathematical function and how to overcome this difficulties. For this study, we have selected two mathematics underachievers and carried out the inspection. The mathematics underachievers have undergone the difficulties of understanding mathematical problems, the difficulties from the deficit of prerequisite and basic learning, the difficulties of finding the answer typically and the difficulties of classifying an algebraic symbol, the difficulties of calculating the gradient of the straight line passing through two points.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.247-265
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• 2015

Mathematics textbook plays a significant role in shaping students' learning of mathematics. Logic, rigor and abstraction as typical features of the formalization of mathematics, dominate mathematics textbooks around the world, which is regarded as one of the important origins of students' learning difficulties in mathematics. An innovative series of Chinese mathematic textbooks is presented in this paper. Supported by the supplementary materials excerpts from the textbooks, it gives a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the principles of design and implementation of this series of mathematics textbooks. The effectiveness of this series of textbooks is demonstrated by student achievement and secondary research data. It shows that series of Chinese mathematic textbooks has largely decreased students' learning difficulties in mathematics and enhance classroom teaching efficiency. It suggests that prioritizing the essence of mathematics and reducing abstraction is an important notion for mathematics textbook design and implementation.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.89-109
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• 2020

This study aims to improve teacher education by analyzing the causes and backgrounds of which pre-service mathematics teachers experience learning difficulties on the topic of discrete mathematics. To this end, we conducted a questionnaire and an evaluation on the topic of discrete mathematics, and the obtained data were analyzed. The results show that (1) pre-service mathematics teachers need to share their perceptions of the need for discrete mathematics education; (2) a review of the adequacy of the discrete mathematical content and its credits are required; (3) the causes of their learning difficulties need to be looked at from a different perspective than the learning factors. And two implications were obtained. First, it is necessary to study the systematicity and sequence of content elements of discrete mathematics in the aspect of its continuity of curriculum of secondary school and university. Second, it is required consideration for adjusting the ratio of discrete mathematics to secondary teachers' employment examination.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.31-45
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• 2020

Despite the trend of the times and the government's efforts to implement policies, a number of students, having difficulties in learning math, are still growing. Reflecting this, many studies related to underachiever of learning mathematics were conducted in the field of mathematics education. Most of these studies, however, were intended to find the cause of underachievers of learning mathematics or experimental studies that applied the specific teaching procedures to the underachievers of learning mathematics and found their effectiveness in terms of academic achievement, compared it beforehand. Thus, in this study, 49 studies, from including theses and published journal papers from 2001, were meta-analyzed to find out how effective the teaching treatment for underachievers of learning mathematics has improved academic performance. As a result of this analysis, we found that teaching treatment generally have moderate effect sizes for children with having difficulties in learning mathematics. It was also possible to analyze the effect of various interventions and to obtain some suggestions on which circumstances the greatest effect could be achieved. Teaching treatments for underachiever of learning mathematics could have greater effectiveness in elementary school level, institution certified testing tool was used, targeted for each individual, taught by peer student, lasted for at least 8 weeks, and using teaching aids and ICT tools.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.75-82
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• 2000

The purpose of this study is to investigate the recognition fur mathematics subject in the 5th and 6th graders elementary students. To carry out this study, the 5th and 6th graders recognition as learning mathematics subject was investigated by questionaire. The questionaire was analysed by using frequency and percentage. The 5th and 6th graders had difficulties in the hierarchical problem because mathematics is very systematic and hierarchical, and other had difficulties in studying mathematics because the explanation of the problem solving process in the textbook was not detailed. Others had difficulties in studying mathematics because of quick loaming progress, in applying the formulas and property of mathematics.

• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.143-156
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• 2008

In this study, we divided the teaching and learning of proof into three steps in the demonstrative geometry of the middle school mathematics. And then we surveyed the student's difficulties in the teaching and learning of proof by using of questionnaire. Results of this survey suggest that students cannot only understand the meaning of proof in the teaching and learning of proof but also they cannot deduce simple mathematical reasoning as judgement for the truth of propositions. Moreover, they cannot follow the hypothesis to a conclusion of the proposition It results from the fact that students cannot understand clearly the meaning and the role of hypotheses and conclusions of propositions. So we need to focus more on teaching students about the meaning and role of hypotheses and conclusions of propositions.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.9 no.1 s.21
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• pp.11-24
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• 2005

Problem solving is an important aspect of learning mathematics and has been extensively researched into by mathematics educators. In this paper we analyze the difficulties students encounter in various steps involved in solving problems involving physical and geometrical applications of mathematical concepts. Our research shows that, generally students, in spite of possessing adequate theoretical knowledge, have difficulties in identifying the hidden data present in the problems which are crucial links to their successful resolutions. Our research also shows that students have difficulties in solving problems involving constructions and use of symmetry.